


Babysitting

by orsumfenix



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Parenthood, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orsumfenix/pseuds/orsumfenix
Summary: “You have to be careful,” Yaozou tells Yamantaka. “That body is fragile.”He has to say this more than once.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Babysitting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jeiidaan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeiidaan/gifts), [rynoa29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rynoa29/gifts).



> inspired by [Three's A Crowd](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146223/chapters/60929539), bc the idea that in that universe yaozou used to stay up and watch over renzou DESTROYED me  
> won't make much sense w/o knowing the core concept of the fic which its summary explains, but also the fic is really good so check it out

“You have to be careful,” Yaozou tells Yamantaka. “That body is fragile.”

Yamantaka stares at him out of Takezou’s eyes. He saw this happen a couple times with Yamantaka’s previous host, but by that point Yamantaka was not possessing a child. This is very different. This is a lot scarier.

“I won’t harm him,” Yamantaka says. It’s like seeing the Antichrist talk. “That would not benefit me. I don’t wish to have my vessel impeded.”

“Uh huh.” Yaozou leans back. The cabinet creaks against him, the glass full of old figurines his father left behind when he died. Yaozou had intended to keep them sealed in the box they arrived in, but his wife found them and thought having them displayed would be nice. It’s certainly something, that’s for sure. “And you need to be quiet. My wife needs sleep, as do my other children.”

“If you let me outside, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Your host is young. Outside would be a risk I’m not yet willing to take.”

Speaking of outside, the moonlight is spilling in through the window and hitting Takezou’s face, his eyes. Those yellow eyes. It’s dark and still, the rest of the family long asleep, and Yaozou’s running on fumes. Ideally he’d shift his sleep schedule to be entirely nocturnal, but by day he has three children to take care of with a fourth on the way, not to mention his duties at the temple. The passing of his father left him with even more on his plate. Yamantaka could not have been inherited at a worse time.

Though, perhaps there is never a good time. Yamantaka’s previous host implied so more than once. Still, Yaozou wishes that Yamantaka had waited until Take was older. Stronger.

“The moon is full,” Yamantaka says. Dust moves through the moonlight like it’s attracted to him. “You know the power of a full moon, yes?”

“I know that it makes demons stronger.”

Yamantaka nods. Silence reigns.

“I want to go outside.”

The sharp response is instant.

“No.”

“I am here to experience. I have experienced the inside. Now I will experience more.”

“You’re not going outside. I told you, it’s too dangerous. Surely you can wait another few years.”

“If you don’t let me outside,” Yamantaka says icily, “I will go without you.”

Shit.

So far Yamantaka’s been good at following the rules they set in place. He genuinely seems to want to protect Takezou’s body, and is aware that fights and such aren’t good for someone so young. He hasn’t even objected to Yaozou’s constant presence since the first couple nights. He’s been calm.

He looks calm now, but in a different way. This is more like the calm before the storm. His eyes seem even more inhuman. Yaozou never thought he’d look at his child and see a monster.

Well. He knew that he might. He just hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t.

There’s bile on his tongue.

“…Fine,” Yamantaka says, standing and making sure Yamantaka sees the K’rik. “But you don’t leave Myodha. And where I go, you go.”

“I expected as much,” Yamantaka says. Yaozou feels cold.

Outside the cicadas chirp. Yamantaka heads straight for the grass and runs his fingers over it. Yaozou didn’t expect that. He expected Yamantaka to run off into the night and cause chaos and him to have to follow and fix it. Not a demon being genuine. Not a demon telling the truth.

“Wow,” Yamantaka says, fingers mingling with the grass, eyes closed and head back. “Sensations really are superior when human. Your kind take it for granted.”

Yaozou does not like Yamantaka. Perhaps that is unfair. But looking now, he’s grateful that at least this demon doesn’t seem to be evil.

There could be a worse demon possessing his son.

“Do you enjoy the air?” Yaozou asks, almost as a joke. Yamantaka nods.

“I do.”

Yaozou watches Yamantaka as he explores the village; climbs on walls, puts his hand in the stream, stares up at the moon. Wherever _it_ goes, he goes. He will not abandon his son, even if Shima tradition has been to allow Yamantaka to roam as he pleases after centuries without an incident. Even if he trusts the Myodha. Some things are more important. Some things like family.

When it’s the early hours and starting to get light, Yamantaka begins to breathe strangely. His eyes flutter. His heart seems to pound.

Takezou opens his eyes.

“Dad?” Take asks. Yaozou’s there in an instant, swooping him up in his arms. They’re by the town’s edge and it’s getting quite light. The cicadas are still going.

“You were sleepwalking again,” Yaozou says, grateful Takezou’s still young enough not to question it. “Alright, kiddo. Let’s get you home.”

\--

“You have to be careful,” Yaozou tells Yamantaka. “That body is fragile.”

Yamantaka stares at him out of Renzou’s eyes. If he didn’t know better he’d think the last ten years were all a dream and he’s back in that night, watching a demon puppeteer his oldest son. Same room, same time, and, god, Renzou even _looks_ like Takezou.

Takezou. His Takezou. Not his anything anymore. Not anything anymore.

Last time Yaozou was mourning his father, but this grief is different. Losing a parent is hard. Losing a child is unbearable.

Yamantaka doesn’t seem to care that Takezou is dead. The negative feeling he’s expressed is the frustration of having to start again with a new host so soon. Before he could go out and now he has to stay cooped up with Yaozou because he’s possessing a child, just like before.

But the real monster was never Yamantaka. The monster was loss, all along.

 _My son is dead,_ Yaozou wants to scream. _His death was not your inconvenience, it was my tragedy._

He may not be the best at reining his temper in, but even he knows not to shout at the demon with a hold on his child. So he keeps quiet. Polishes his K’rik with clenched knuckles. Frets.

“I would never hurt Renzou,” Yamantaka says. Seeing a little kid’s name emerge from his own mouth is just unnatural, even without knowing the specifics. “You know this. I told you this, with Takezou.”

“I know,” Yaozou says, strong and raw. “And now he’s gone. You can understand my concern.”

Yamantaka inclines his head. Every word he says sounds distant, like it’s echoing in Yaozou’s head and not coming straight from Renzou’s mouth.

“That was not my fault,” Yamantaka says. “Takezou chose that fate.”

And that’s the worst part, isn’t it? That Takezou _did_ chose that fate, albeit for the good of the Myodha. That Yamantaka did nothing to influence his decision at all.

“And you chose to possess Renzou,” Yaozou says, on the verge of making a point. “You could have possessed any Shima. Why him?”

Yamantaka is silent for a very long time. The moon is his focal point. Funny, it was a full moon last time. Now it’s only a crescent. Less power, but somehow more control. Renzou has always been less stubborn than Takezou.

“Shima Renzou,” Yamantaka starts, then stops. Seeing his young child act like an ancient and wise master will never cease to be strange. “He was there. He was young. He had space.”

“Space,” Yaozou repeats. Yamantaka isn’t yet in a body old enough to request going outside, but he will be soon. Especially now that he’s come straight from a body he’s been allowed to explore with, a body that Yaozou has followed outside and then left to his own devices. “Space for what?”

Yamantaka looks right at him.

“For me,” Yamantaka says simply, then seems to dissolve. Renzou’s eyes flutter.

“Mmm,” Renzou says, then: “Dad?”

“I’m here, Renzou,” Yaozou says, taking his son in his arms. It’s so different from before. It’s exactly the same as before. “I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!


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